Creating Space for High-Impact Educational Practices: It Requires Leadership and Commitment

The Fika Crew talk about rusk bites and the AAC&U (American Association of Colleges and Universities) high-impact educational practices  —  learning experiences that have disproportionate long-term benefits for students. These high-touch, complex, longitudinal experiences are resource-intensive and challenging to implement in an already all-too-packed curriculum.   Measuring their effectiveness is no easy task, and determining what "low-impact" classes and activities should be eliminated is harder still.  We need the "Brock List of Low-Impact Practices" to help guide us!

Fika Beverage Snack Sharing: 0:00 - 3:40

 Discussion about high-impact educational practices:  3:41

Resources

Kuh GD.  High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter.  American Association of Colleges & Universities, 2008.  ISBN: 978-0-9796181-4-7

Fink LD.  Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses, 2nd Edition.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2013.

White A. Understanding the University and Faculty Investment in Implementing High-Impact Educational Practices. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 2018; 18(2): 118–135.

Kilgo CA, Ezell Sheets JK & Pascarella ET. The link between high-impact practices and student learning: some longitudinal evidence. High Educ 2015; 69: 509–525. 

Forrester CA, Lee DA, Hon E, et al.  Preceptor perceptions of pharmacy student performance before and after a curriculum transformation. Am J Pharm Education 2023; 87 (2): 8575.

Lepp GA, Westberg SM, Lee J, Janke KK.  Exploring the unanticipated value of an oral exam integrating content across courses.  Curr Pharm Teach Learn 2025; 17 (5): 102302.

_______________________

The Pharmacy Fika podcast is a positive and compassionate “place” (a virtual community) where pharmacy and other health professions educators gather to discuss teaching, learning, scholarship, and academic life… plus the snacks that support their best work. So grab your favorite beverage and listen to the Pharmacy Fika podcast with your colleagues.

The Co-Hosts are:

• Stuart T. Haines (Executive Producer), University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy – sthaines@olemiss.edu               
• Tina Brock, University of Melbourne Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, and Health Sciences - tina.brock@unimelb.edu.au
• Jeff Cain, University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy - jeff.cain@uky.edu 
• Kristin Janke, University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy - janke006@umn.edu

Disclaimer (inspired by Whad’Ya Know?): All opinions expressed on the Pharmacy Fika podcast are well-reasoned and insightful. Needless to say, they are ours and our guests alone, and not those of our employing institutions.

Even though we don’t accept advertising and don’t have any sponsors, we seem to mention Trader Joe’s snacks and various water-based drinks a LOT.

Not sure what fika is all about?  Watch this brief video:  How a Swedish coffee break can boost your wellbeing and performance.

Got a great idea for a discussion topic?  Drop us a line (pharmacyfika@gmail.com) or leave us a voice message: https://www.speakpipe.com/PharmacyFika